Lightning Strikes as Louis Vuitton, ‘Final Fantasy’ Collide

The iconic fashion brand Louis Vuitton has enlisted the help of a digital heroine to promote its goods.

Louis Vuitton creative director Nicolas Ghesquiere has published ads for his fashion house featuring Lightning from the Final Fantasy series. In a post to Instagram this week, Ghesquiere called Lightning a “genuine heroine,” adding that the ad for the Louis Vuitton series 4 campaign is where “reality and fantasy become one.”

Lightning has become one of the more prominent characters in the Final Fantasy universe. She first appeared as a playable character in Final Fantasy XIII, and is the only playable character in Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. She’s also featured in several other Final Fantasy games.

Final Fantasy is one of the most iconic franchises in gaming history. Most of the games have focused heavily on role-playing and storytelling, and the titles have often ventured into full-fledged combat, open-world concepts, and online play. The franchise was developed by Japan-based game developer and publisher Square-Enix.

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Lightning is arguably one of the more important Final Fantasy characters in recent memory, combining strong combat with what’s been called a “cool” personality that gamers have generally found appealing. It’s unclear what her future is in the Final Fantasy series, but it’s believed she will at least feature in future games.

Whatever the case, her inclusion in a premium fashion brand’s ad campaign is notable. She’s shown in one video, illustrated by her designer and famed gaming artist Tetsuya Nomura, showcasing some of Louis Vuitton’s latest handbags and clothing designs. The video starts with her wearing the same pink jacket and shorts as the first look from Ghesquiere’s latest collection. In stills, she’s seen showcasing handbags.

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The Lightning inclusion is part of a broader attempt by Ghesquiere to innovate on the brand’s design. Indeed, he has said that his latest collection was heavily influenced by video games, anime (Japanese animation), and other similar influences.

For Lightning, who features distinctive rose-colored hair and blue eyes, moving from the combat-intensive world of Final Fantasy to the fashion world is nothing new. In 2012, she was among several Final Fantasy characters included in ads from big-name fashion brand Prada.

Looking ahead, it’s unknown whether this is all for Lightning or if she may feature in more Louis Vuitton ads. Either way, the digital character has clearly become a trendsetter for both fashion and gaming.

Why game companies are making VR demos for non-VR games

In addition to making VR video games, game publishers are starting to use VR as a new way to market non-VR games.

To build anticipation for the Dec. 1 launch of Just Cause 3, Square Enix enlisted developer Mindlight to develop the Wingsuit Experience. The iOS and Android VR app allows users to experience flying through the air just as protagonist Rico Rodriguez does in the game. The app uses in-game footage, but lets users move their head to see a 360-degree view of the world in mid-flight.

According to Rob Rutter, global brand manager on Just Cause 3, virtual reality was the perfect way to let consumers get a free birds’ eye view of the game’s huge world, which spans 400 square miles.

“VR is such an interactive and immersive format for creating a really deep engagement with players,” Rutter says. “It’s not like simply watching an ad and forgetting it. You get to live inside it and see it on your own terms, play around with it, and hopefully spend more time inside the experience. Those are all really desirable things from a marketing point of view.”

Square Enix has been handing out free branded Google Cardboards to gamers at events like Penny Arcade Expo and New York Comic Con. Consumers who don’t own a VR headset can download the free app and use their smartphone’s gyrometer to freely move the camera and rotate the view of the world below.

Game publisher Wargaming is promoting its World of Tanks franchise through a series of 360-degree live action videos. “1941 Battle: 360-degree Reenactment” was shot at the Stalin Line Museum outside of Minsk, Belarus with an army of GoPro cameras mounted to custom 360-degree rigs to capture WWII tanks in action. Forty infantry re-enactors, artillery vehicles, and even some warplanes were used in the 24-hour shoot.

“It doesn’t get much newer than flying a seven-GoPro beehive from a hex copter while real WWII tanks catch fire and explode around you, or virtually sitting on top of a Leopard 1 at top speed, turret swinging to and fro,” Matt Daly, special projects lead at Wargaming, says.

Earlier this year, Wargaming partnered with Google and The Bovington Tank Museum to produce a series of five 360-degree videos titled “Virtually Inside the Tanks,” which feature two former tank commanders chatting about the history of each tank.

“Google is in the same headspace with their Cardboard and Heritage initiatives, so the partnership makes perfect sense,” Daly says. “Now that VR video production technology has caught up a bit, it turns out VR is a perfect medium for illustrating history.”

Daly says that now that Wargaming has seen what’s possible with VR at a basic level, the publisher is exploring bigger and deeper 360-degree experiences.

“We’re talking to some serious thought leaders in the space about projects the likes of which nobody has seen before,” Daly says. “The most amazing part about this is that I know we’re not the only ones in VR who can honestly say this about upcoming potential projects. The space is widening rapidly and we’re ready to play.”

How Comic Con became a video game hotspot

San Diego’s Comic Con is increasingly resembling Austin’s South by Southwest.

While the show initially focused on just one thing—in this case a place for comic book fans to meet writers and artists, rather than SXSW’s music—it has over the years become a launch pad for many others. And while movies and TV shows have commanded the lion’s share of the spotlight for the past 15 years, video games have been grabbing people’s attention more and more.

Most major game publishers will have a significant presence at this year’s show, which officially kicks off today, both in panels at the San Diego Convention Center and at several unofficial exhibits in the surrounding area.

“It has really become the Super Bowl or Oscars of entertainment for people around the world,” says Mike Silbowitz, senior director of marketing for Square Enix. “It started as a comic book show, but as the years progressed, movies began to dominate. Now video games have jumped on board to show off our biggest and brightest products.”

They’ll be showing off in a big way, too. Take-Two Interactive Software will host a laser tag arena for its upcoming game Battleborn. Ubisoft is offering an obstacle course based on its Assassin’s Creed Syndicate. And Activision ATVI has put together an escape room for fans for Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, which will showcase the game’s fan-favorite zombie mode. Microsoft MSFT and Nintendo NTDOY will also be on hand, with gaming lounges and other events.

Hollywood certainly paved the way for the gaming revolution at Comic Con. Star Wars showed its first footage there in 1976. In 2009, James Cameron showed off 25 minutes of Avatar. And the cast of The Avengers was revealed in 2010.

During those years, though, games were becoming their own pop culture phenomenon. Realizing that the comic-loving and sci-fi/fantasy film audience was right in the sweet spot of the industry’s demographic, it was a natural move for publishers to commit to the show.

“What started as a fan gathering of comic-based activities became a celebration of popular culture,” says Todd Harvey, senior vice president, consumer marketing for Destiny and Call of Duty at Activision. “At the same time, I think big video games have moved from being a form of digital entertainment to being mass pop culture in their own right. For us, it always seemed a natural platform.”

“Fans of video games love comics. Fans of video games love movies,” adds Silbowitz. “And they come to this event to learn about all the properties everyone has.”

Amplifying the decision to move in was the rise of Facebook and Twitter. A strong presence for a game at Comic Con can dramatically increase its buzz factor. And with the holiday season kicking off in just a few months for publishers, that can make the difference between a profitable title and a break even one.

“We see it as an opportunity to reach a large number of people—not only at the event, but outside the event,” says Adam Novickas, vice president of marketing at Ubisoft. “With the rise of social media, you can reach a whole group of people that you couldn’t reach before. … It used to be you could talk to 100,000 people. Now you’re talking to millions.”

Ubisoft was an early adopter of Comic Con—and its success at the show did not go unnoticed. Silbowitz acknowledges that the interest the publisher was generating with Assassin’s Creed was a factor in Square Enix’s decision to launch its own presence at the show.

Like South by Southwest, the audience at Comic Con goes well beyond ticket holders. Fans who are unable to get one the coveted passes still show up in force to absorb the unofficial show events.

That forces publishers to take a two-pronged approach in their approach to Comic Con. The big exhibits outside of the show, like the Assassin’s Creed course (which last year hosted 30,000 people), are flashy, but it’s also important to make an impression in any panels you host. Activision, for example, will not only showcase the zombie mode of Black Ops 3, it will also reveal the game celebrities who provided voice over work for the game at its panel.

“Water cooler moments: That’s what Comic Con is all about,” says Novickas. “You can’t see a direct impact [on your IP], but what you can see is social chatter. You see how many people are engaging with your product.”